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Topic: How long does dealer repair take (Read 1489 times)

How long does it generally take for a dealer to repair your camper ? We took ours in three weeks ago for them to check for a roof leak and it is not ready yet I felt like two weeks was realistic so not sure how much longer they will keep it. I guess I am asking what you think is a reasonable amount of time for a repair

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2018 Winnebago IntentWinter Springs, Florida😀

Oscar Mike

Hmmm...I took my RV into a local dealer for a chassis service it was a single day event. My last roof seal at the same dealer took two days. Most dealers are motivated by the money, some are not. Good luck, and I would take a trip to the dealer and put eyes on my coach.

How long does it generally take for a dealer to repair your camper ? We took ours in three weeks ago for them to check for a roof leak and it is not ready yet I felt like two weeks was realistic so not sure how much longer they will keep it. I guess I am asking what you think is a reasonable amount of time for a repair

Sounds like you had a appointment. I would have been calling 5 days after you dropped it off and then every other day after that. Ever hear " The squeaky wheel gets the grease".Did you buy it from them?

How long? It depends so much on the dealer and the problem. I've had (rarely) repairs within a day or so, and (again rarely) over a month. Sometimes it's affected by a wait (when under warranty) to get the manufacturer to approve the repair, though this isn't always the case. But, as Rene said, I'd be calling them periodically to check on how things are going, what the status is of your rig, or something similar.

Squeaky wheel for sure. We had ours in to fix some road debris damage and add a Maxxair fan. Scheduled appointment, started calling daily at 2 weeks, after 3 weeks we started reminding them of our upcoming trip. Still took 4 weeks! Note this dealer is well regarded, so I can't imagine how bad a poor dealer would be! I will note that ours was late May/early June so they were deluged with new units to get ready for sale. Service is lower priority than sales for them.

When you booked the appointment and brought the trailer in did you ask how long it would be before they could start work on it? Are you expecting preferential treatment? If they are busy you just might have to wait your turn like everyone else has to.

RV warranties are pretty much a joke which is why I always recommend to buy used. Buy used and hire mobile mechanics to do any work. Dropping off your RV and hoping the dealer gets the work done in the same calendar year is just silly. They don't care about you once you sign the papers.

When you booked the appointment and brought the trailer in did you ask how long it would be before they could start work on it? Are you expecting preferential treatment? If they are busy you just might have to wait your turn like everyone else has to.

Not sure how you think i am expecting preferential treatment? I simply asked what was normal in how long it takes. This is my first time to take it in for repairs.

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2018 Winnebago IntentWinter Springs, Florida😀

Hammster

When we took ours in for warranty work they told us where it was in the queue and how long it would take to get it into the shop, how long to check on the reasons we brought it in, how long they would expect the manufacturer to approve the warranty work, and how long before it would be ready for pick up. Your dealer should have told you all of this right up front. Dates can shift a little bit due to parts availability, but at least you'd have a good idea how long before you'd get it back. I think ours was at the dealer for a couple weeks total.

It varies a lot by dealer and type of problem. We often hear stories here about repairs that took 3-4 weeks, or sometimes even more. Too often the RV just sits there without even work-in-progress. However, I would say one week is typical at the better places, and 2-3 weeks at the rest.

Warranty work generally doesn't pay as well as retail repairs, so some shops put it at the bottom of their priority list. Conversely, the squeaky wheel typically moves up the list. Other people come in with "emergencies", real or perceived, and get quicker attention. Parts availability can have a big impact as well. Most RV shops have a main supplier, or maybe two. and rely on them to source everything. If they run into a delay, they often do not have anybody to quickly chase down a part, so time drags on until somebody has spare time to look. For parts unique to the RV, they may order direct from the factory, who in turn back-orders to their supplier, resulting in longer delivery times. The shop could have ordered direct from the source in nearly all cases, but they don't take the time to figure out who it is and put through a purchase order.

In short, your experience is fairly typical. That doesn't make it acceptable, though, and you should get on their case.

More than likely they will tell you they are waiting for parts, which they may well be. I waited for a part for my roof for 4 months because I had to fight with the REV Group because they said the damage was my fault, which it wasn't. But I didn't leave the RV with the dealer. I took it in, they accessed the damage, and I picked it up the next day and brought it home, and used it til all parts came in. Perhaps you should do the same. Tell them you are picking it up until they are ready to repair it. It's better to have it in your yard, then theirs!

Might be better to say "typical" rather than "normal". There is nothing normal about taking 3-4 weeks to do a one day job and more professional businesses would be horrified at the thought, but it's what typically happens at RV dealers.

I wouldn't sign anything or leave the premises until you are sure that the repairs are done and correctly. Have them show you what they did, if possible, and if required, demonstrate that the fix works. They should be willing to do that.

I live in my motorhome full-time, so I cannot just leave mine for weeks on end while they leave it parked in their lot while they put the repairs in Queue. I also have had a lot of bad experience, like waiting for hours only to find out they had not started the work as promised, or that they had ordered the wrong part and it won't fit, etc. etc.

So here is what I do for repairs:

I tell them on the phone what repairs need to be done and ask for an estimate of how long it will take. I also ask them if they think they have all the parts they would need for these repairs.

I tell them I am living in my unit and can't leave it parked there overnight.

When I take it in for my appointment I remind them I am waiting for it. I also ask them to let me know if they discover they need to order a part. If they do, I want them to let me know immediately, fix what they can then, and then let me know when I can bring it back for the rest of the repairs.

Usually, this gets me faster repairs and prevents communication errors. It also prevents wasted time waiting for parts. And this is for non-warranty repairs. I don't think is pressuring them to do my work before anyone else's, but it does communicate expectations and get them to let me know status.

I gave up on the dealer I purchased my motorhome from because they refused to repair some things under warranty and complained constantly about the things they did repair. I called the factory customer service number and complained about how the dealer had refused to fix stuff and stuff they did fix, did not stay fixed. I also got tired of waiting for parts, so I took it to the factory for all the rest of my warranty repairs.

All I can do is wish you good luck. If you get desperate, you might mention what you had heard on blogs about that dealer and hope you don't have to post anything negative.

After reading stories on here and other forums for several years, I guess my dealer is very atypical. I had no issues at purchase, they had done a very thorough PDI and when I inspected and did my PDI, the tech outlined what issues they had discovered and fixed/replaced. My current trailer they did the same.

Any service I needed (minor, luckily), I called and made an appointment. When I arrived, they were ready, and I was out at the end of the day - and they even washed my trailer.

The one major issue I had on my prior RV, a ramp delamination (it's a Toy Hauler), they had me bring it in and they inspected it and took pictures, then sent me home with the trailer, I used it the next weekend. Next day they called and told me the manufacturer (KZ) had approved the replacement and was sending a new ramp. Said it would be a couple of weeks as they would send it in a trailer being delivered. 2 weeks to the day they called and said ramp was in, could I bring it the following Thursday so they could do the replacement on Friday, caulk and seal the hardware and allow it to set up and test for leaks over the weekend. I picked it up on Monday, zero cost. And they washed and waxed it.

I feel very fortunate that my dealer is apparently one of the better ones.

Well the data is entered and the good news is we are getting the camper back tomorrow The bad news is we are having to pay for the roof leak because apparently even though it has a two year warranty it is only a one year warranty on the roof No one bothered to tell us that when we bought the camper but we were supposed to read Jayco manual to find that out Dumb us. Live and learn! Anyway thanks for all of your comments I learn so much on this forum !

I went to dealer to ask about getting a recall satisfied and they told me that it would take them over two weeks to get the part. I called Workhorse and had the part that same evening. Handed it in attached to the business card of the man who delivered it.

Next time I had a problem that authorized service center not only got the part promptly (Fed-Ex Overnight) they moved big time (Of course the man who handed me the recall part...... National Customer Service Dept head. Man who decides IF they are authorized).

Newspaper: GM CEO held a news conference. and he was bragging about their new, improved, customer service... He ask a specific reporter if he had any complaints.

Well.... as a matter of fact......

Within the hour a porter with a loaner car at his house (News conference still ongoing) and took his car to the dealer where he picked it up.... all fixed.... the very next day.

3rd story: My first "Towed" was a 1992 Chevy Lumina APV.. Had a brake issue (Excessive pedal travel) The dealer never did figure it out.... I finally sat at work during my down time and visualized the brake system. Figured out what the issue had to be. Took it to my Tire guy the next day (they do brakes and other stuff) and they verified and fixed. LIKE NEW. Dealer did refund me a couple hours diagnosis time since their "Factory Trained" expert could not figure it out.. I have no training in that area.. Just an engineer's mind.

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Nothing adds excitement like something that is none of your businessMy Home is where I park it.

Glad you got your leak issue remedied. I would advise anyone buying a used or NEW RV or trailer to have a pressurized leak test done before moving the camper off the sales lot, or immediately after purchasing from an individual. It'll cost about $200. Also I would advise getting up on the roof at least every 6 months to inspect the caulking for cracks. The seams on many RVs and trailers are not sealed with folds of metal and elastomer O-rings. They are sealed with caulking.

I have my service work done at an RV service-only facility. They don't sell RVs. I give them my guess at what the problem is. They look at their work back-log and give me a day to bring in the camper, usually one to two weeks out. They are always booked up. I bring it in and they get it back to me within a week if no parts are needed, two weeks if parts are ordered.

We had only one warranty issue with our new coach - a section of bedroom wall paneling was quite loose from the wall structure. You had to hold it against the wall when pulling a plug from the power outlet, or it would just come right with it!

Happily, our dealer got us in within 2 days, and fixed it overnight. When we came to pick up the coach, the service writer came inside with us and made sure we were happy with the results. He also documented and photographed the problem to send to Winnebago's QC department (they requested this) so they could try to avoid the problem on other builds.